The present invention generally relates to manufacturing of products such as electronic apparatuses and more particularly to a device used for transporting products, half-products or raw materials in a factory or warehouse.
In the factories or warehouses, the transportation of materials such as products, half-products or raw materials is achieved usually by transportation vehicles such as a fork-lift truck. However, such a transportation vehicle is bulky and the use thereof in a closed environment causes various problems such as exhaust gas, need of ventilation, etc. Further, a license is often required for an operator to operate such vehicles.
The air-foil transportation device is a device used for transporting various materials such as products, half-products or raw materials by using an air-foil bearing. Typically, the device includes a base body on which an air-foil bearing unit is provided, wherein the base body is lifted from a floor by an air-foil that is formed by the air-foil bearing unit. The device is ideal for use in the closed environment such as factories and warehouses, as the device is driven by compressed air.
When using the air-foil transportation device in such a closed environment, particularly for lifting a body that is placed on a pallet, it is necessary to form the air-foil transportation device sufficiently small with respect to the vertical dimension such that the air-foil transportation device can move into a space that is formed under the pallet. Typically, the height of such a space is less than 100 mm. On the other hand, in order to lift the pallet together with the body of product thereon, it is necessary to provide a lifting mechanism such as a pantograph or hydraulic cylinder on the base body. However, such a lifting mechanism is bulky and makes it impossible to move the device into the space formed under the pallet.